There is a continuing need to develop stable materials that can encapsulate a functional or guest agent, be capable of transportation, be capable of targeting specific environments within a biological species and be able to deliver the desired encapsulated material to different pre-selectable target environments. There is a need for a method to prepare functional gel particles which can encapsulate functional agent(s), allow functionalization of the exterior of the gel particle by attaching targeting surface active agents that can recognize specific environments within a living organism to the exterior of the gel particle, and deliver the particle to the target site where the particle “opens” and delivers the encapsulated or intra-particle attached functional agent(s) to the targeted site. Such materials are exemplified herein.
There is a further need to be able to encapsulate a known amount of functional compound within a gel particle and hold the functional compound within the gel until it is released in the selected environment, at the appropriate time, over the appropriate time frame, or retain the functional compound when added to a different environment until subsequently stimulated to release the agent.
Prior art technologies may accomplish one or more of these objectives but do not accomplish all of these objectives in a single material.
There are a number of processes for the preparation of encapsulated functional materials but these processes depend on the coincidental encapsulation of the functional material during uncontrolled encapsulation procedures and enthalpic control over the release of the drug.
A need therefore exists for a material that has the ability to encapsulate organic and inorganic materials such as, but not limited to pigments or other visually responsive materials, bio-active molecules such as drugs or nano-materials; physically or chemically deliver them to a specific targeted site; and then change the nature of the gel in response to the environment to controllably release the encapsulated material.